Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1887-02-16

"Well," said Zenobia, II reckon you all
know Ned Falkner and the Excelsior Ditch!"
ayes, Falkner's the superintendent Of it,"
said Rawlins. sand square man too. Thar
amt anything mean about him.
"Shake," said Zenobia, extending her
hand. Rawlins shook the proifered hand
with eager spontancousness, and the girl re-
sumed: "He's about ez good cz they make
'em-you bet. Well, you know Ned Inns put
all his money, and all his strength, and all
his sabe, and"-
"Hs good looks" added Clinch, mis-
chievousy.
"Into that ditch" continued Zenobia, ig-
noring the interruption. "It's his mother,
it's his sweetheart, it's his everything! When
other chaps of his age was cavortin' round
Frisco, and havn' high jinlis, Ned was in his
ditch. wait till the ditch is donef he used
to say. wait till she begins to- o/boom, and
then you just stand round Moren that. he
got oil the boys to put in their last cent-for
they loved Ned, and love him now, like ez eff
he wos woman"
THAT'S So" said Clinch and Rawlins SIM
ultaneously, "and he's worth it."
"Well," continued Zenobia, "the ditch
didn't boom ez soon ez they kalkilatcd. And
then the boys kept gettin' poorer and poorer,
and Ned he kept gettin' poorer and poorer in
everything but his hopefulness and grit.
Then be looks around for more capital. And
about this time that coyote Harkins smelt
suthin' nice up there, and he gifts Ned to give
him control of it and he'll lend him his name
and fix up company. Soon ez he gets con-
troll, the first thing he does is to say that it
wants 100000 O money to make it pay
and levies an assessment of 5000 q share
That's nothn' for them rich fellows to pay,
or pretend to pay, but for boys on grub
wages it meant only ruin. They souldn't
pay, and had to forfeit their shares
for next to nothing. And Ned made
ono more desperate attempt to seve
them and himself by borrowing money
on his shares; when that hound
Harkins got wind Of it, and let it be buzzed
around thut the ditch is failure, and that
he was goin' out of it; that brought the
shares down to nothing. AS Ned couldn't
raise dollar the new company swooped
down on his shares for the debts they had
put up. and left him and tue boys to help
themselves Ned couldn't bear to face the
boys that he'd helped to ruin and put out,
and amt been heard from since. After
Harkns had got rid OF Ned and the boys he
ma,ls2es to pay of that wonderful debt, and
sells out for SlOO,OOO. That money-Ned's
money-he sends to Sacramento, for he don't
dare to travel with 1t himself, and is kalkil-
atm to leave .he kintry, for some of the boys
allow to kill him Oh sight. So ef you're
wanti,,' to hunt suthin', thar's yer chance,
and you needn't 60 inter the snow to do it."
"But surely the law can recover this
money!" said Hale Indignantly. ut is as i'll
famous u robbery us"-. He stopped as he
caught Zenobia's eye
"Ez last nights, you were goin' to say.
TIL call it more. Them road agents don't
pretend to be your friell-but take yer
money and run their risks. For ez to the
:aw, that can't help yer"
'Its skin game, and you might ez well
expect to recover gambling debt from
short card sharp" explained Clinch; "Falk-
ncr oughter shot him Oh sight"
"Or the boys lynched him." suggested
Rawlins.
II think said Hale, more rehectively,
"that in the absence of legal remedy man
of that kind should have been forced under
strong physical menace to give up his i'll
gotten gains. The money was the primary
object, and if that could be got without
bloodshed-which seems to me useless
crime-it would be quite us effective. Of
course, if there was resistance or retaliation,
It might be necessary to kill him."
He had unconSciously fallen into his old
tiidactic and dosmatic habit of speech, and
perhaps, under the spur of Zenobia's eyes, he
hid given it some natural emphasis A dead